Bus service in jeopardy without local support

Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune

Members of the Gary Public Transit Corporation board listen during a public comment session about a reduced service proposal on the Lakeshore South Shore route during a meeting on Thursday, July 6, 2017, at the Adam Benjamin Jr. Metro Center in Gary.

Members of the Gary Public Transit Corporation board listen during a public comment session about a reduced service proposal on the Lakeshore South Shore route during a meeting on Thursday, July 6, 2017, at the Adam Benjamin Jr. Metro Center in Gary. (Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune)

The Gary Public Transit Board voted to put the brakes on its Hammond service Thursday, unless additional funding comes from local municipalities served by the routes.

Without funding, the popular Lakeshore South route faces elimination in December. It provides service from downtown Hammond to Purdue University Northwest and commercial centers in Highland and Munster.

By September, the GPTC plans to scale back its hourly Lakeshore Connection service between downtown Gary and downtown Hammond. The route would run every two hours under the service change.

In June, the GPTC suspended weekday Lakeshore South service from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and after 6:30 p.m. It also halted Saturday service on the route.

GPTC Planning and Marketing Director David Wright said Gary was the lone municipality contributing to the service. "When we started the Lakeshore South service, we had more budget latitude," he said.

Wright encouraged citizens who use the service or support it to start petitions in their communities and to talk to their elected officials and to the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority and the Northern Indiana Regional Planning Commission. Wright said forums will be planned in the affected service areas.

Wright said the transit agency needs a $73,000 local match to maintain full service on the Lakeshore South route. Or it could establish a new route through Hammond and Whiting.

If there's a local match of $143,000, more options are possible. Two-hour service on the Lakeshore Connection would be maintained along with the Lakeshore South route and service could be extended into north Hammond.

Teresa Torres, the director of Everybody Counts, a disabled rights advocacy group, blamed the RDA and the city of Hammond for failing to offer funding. She said Hammond is the biggest city in Lake County and her group gets calls from senior citizens there frequently. She said the RDA was created to expand the area's regional transit system.

"Nobody put their money where their mouth is. We need to have a coordinated effort," she said.

Frustrated GPTC board member Marcus Hare said the GPTC is in danger of losing federal money if it can't find a local match from other communities it serves. "Our people need jobs and they need a way to get there," he said. "It's a social injustice."

Hare criticized communities that won't support the transit service. "They made a lot of empty and broken promises. Now, it's time to collect."

Hare said the GPTC is in talks with Portage and Valparaiso and receiving more positive feedback than from northern Lake County communities.

Gary transit officials hope other communities will sign agreements like the town of Merrillville did recently. Merrillville sought additional service and it provided money for shelters along the new Broadway Metro Express route. The town also provided $18,000 for a vehicle for a feeder for riders from Indiana 55 to the Broadway Metro Express. The town is also providing $44,000 each year for three years toward operation of the service.

In 2014, the GPTC stepped up to fill the void when the Regional Bus Authority halted service when it couldn't secure local funding and the RDA opted to no longer support it.

Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune

Gary Public Transportation Corp. spokesman David Wright speaks about a reduced service proposal on the Lakeshore South bus route during a meeting on Thursday, July 6, 2017, at the Adam Benjamin Jr. Metro Center in Gary.

Gary Public Transportation Corp. spokesman David Wright speaks about a reduced service proposal on the Lakeshore South bus route during a meeting on Thursday, July 6, 2017, at the Adam Benjamin Jr. Metro Center in Gary. (Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune)

Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune

Teresa Torres, with Everybody Counts, speaks out against a reduced service proposal on the Lakeshore South bus route during a meeting on Thursday, July 6, 2017, at the Adam Benjamin Jr. Metro Center in Gary.

Teresa Torres, with Everybody Counts, speaks out against a reduced service proposal on the Lakeshore South bus route during a meeting on Thursday, July 6, 2017, at the Adam Benjamin Jr. Metro Center in Gary. (Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune)

Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune

Gary resident Renae Jackson speaks out against a reduced service proposal on the Lakeshore South bus route during a meeting on Thursday, July 6, 2017, at the Adam Benjamin Jr. Metro Center in Gary.

Gary resident Renae Jackson speaks out against a reduced service proposal on the Lakeshore South bus route during a meeting on Thursday, July 6, 2017, at the Adam Benjamin Jr. Metro Center in Gary. (Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune)